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Chill iced tea with frozen fruit

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Iced tea with frozen fruit

The principle behind iced tea is simple: make hot tea and serve it cold. Unfortunately, getting a good batch of iced tea is not always as easy as it sounds. It’s easy to over-steep the tea, making it bitter, and it is equally easy to over dilute it with ice, leaving you with a less-than-refreshing drink. I find that the best way to make iced tea is to brew extra strong tea by using a few extra tea bags (depending on the size of the batch), stir in a generous amount of sugar or honey while the tea is hot, then chill it overnight without adding any ice. Ice should be added to the glasses just before serving.

My current favorite way to serve iced tea is to use frozen fruit in place of ice cubes. The frozen fruit keeps the drink cold while they are defrosting, and they don’t add excess water – unlike ice cubes – that dilutes the tea. In fact, they add a little bit of fruity sweetness to the tea, so each glass will be even more flavorful than it would be with ice alone. Frozen fruit will be good in any type of tea, but it’s even better if you brew a fruity tea to begin with. The tea pictured above is Zhena’s Gypsy Tea Strawberry Kiwi Green Tea (review here), which I iced with frozen strawberries, raspberries and cherries, then garnished with a sprig of mint.

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22 Comments
  • Shell
    April 28, 2009

    Frozen fruit is a great idea. I will definitely give it a try especially during those 100 deg days that are soon approaching.

  • Baking Monster
    April 28, 2009

    looks super refreshing!and i love the frozen fruit idea.

  • bellaguinness
    April 28, 2009

    Lovely idea! I need to try this out on my husband. He’s a sweet tea fanatic and this may just be a winning healthy alternative.

  • Linda
    April 28, 2009

    Oh great idea using frozen fruit. I am going top use this for sure this summer!

  • Claudia
    April 28, 2009

    What a grand idea! I am definitely going to try this. And it looks so pretty.

  • Ana
    April 28, 2009

    i love the addition of the frozen fruit- can’t wait to try that.

    and for your next pictcher of iced tea, you might want to try cold brewing. just put the tea in cool water and refrigerate it overnight (or at least 8-9 hours). strain it the next morning, and you’ll have delicious, sweet, never-overbrewed tea- all without heating anything up! i played around with every type you can imagine (blacks, greens, oolongs, whites) last summer and couldn’t believe how amazing they all turned out.

  • Chris
    April 28, 2009

    Looks like a very refreshing drink… Especially with a little Vodka!

  • Elyse
    April 28, 2009

    I’m a good southern girl at heart–it’s simple syrup all the way for sweet tea! (You’ve got to get waaaay more sugar into southern sweet tea than you could ever simply dissolve into the tea…really, it’s gross if you think about it 🙂 ) I love your idea to use frozen fruit as ice cubes! Can’t wait to throw some into my unsweetened tea

  • Mal
    April 28, 2009

    Brilliant idea with the fresh mint leaf and frozen fruit. I must try that at home and see about adding it to the menu. Best idea I’ve seen recently. Thanks !!

  • Koko
    May 1, 2009

    Mmmm nothing is more refreshing on a warm day than a good iced tea!

  • Bill
    May 7, 2009

    This looks delicious especially on a hot day like today. Does it taste good with a little vodka mixed in too? 🙂

  • Grace F
    May 12, 2009

    The frozen fruit instead of ice cubes is a great idea! My husband will love that. It is a healthier choice for flavor rather than dumping a whole bunch of sugar in!

  • Tom Carpal Nicholson
    May 14, 2009

    A really “must-try”. I am not fond of drinking tea, but the idea of having frozen fruit like strawberry really sounds do delicious and very refreshing. My wife would love this.

  • judith
    May 16, 2009

    I’ve always struggled with iced tea, it never quite lives up to expectations. I’ll certainly give the frozen fruit idea a try, if (here in the UK) we ever get any hot weather!

  • BrenDiva
    May 18, 2009

    🙂 Great tips! The frozen fruit makes it fun.

  • Cindy
    June 4, 2009

    I love iced tea. My new-ish favorite is Passion Tea Lemonaide from Starbucks. You wouldn’t happen to have a recipe for that would you?

  • ekÅŸi
    September 27, 2009

    It looks like very sweat 🙂

  • Sandeep
    October 12, 2009

    Wow….!!! i tried it…It tastes great….!!!!!!!

  • ben
    October 21, 2009

    great idea with a blend of fruit in a drink…so refreshing and healthy really try this at home.

  • Whistling Kettle
    November 14, 2009

    Your idea here sounds great. Icing the tea likely waters it too much so your strategy to cool it overnight is a great way to avoid that issue. And boy does it look good. I love the addition of frozen fruit!

  • bmontecastro
    December 7, 2009

    Fantastic trick in a drink. I tried putting a lot of ice before for a really cool drink and you were really right, it alters the taste of the tea. I so love iced teas and this fruity iced tea innovation is really refreshing for tea lovers like me. I wonder why I never tried it before.Thanks!

  • Daniel Wynn
    January 26, 2010

    Frozen fruit is a good idea… very refreshing and very great for this coming summer season

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